A Mind among Men ORIGINAL
by Noaki
Summary: After the Neko-ken training, Ranma is helped by an old monk. The monk helps Ranma discover his psychic powers.
1. Memories REWRITTEN

A Mind among Men ORIGINAL  
A Ranma Fanfic  
Written By : Noaki (Noaki@juno.com)  
  
Disclaimer : I do not own in any way shape or form any part of Ranma. I only use it's characters and some of it's storyline.  
  
Conversation Key :  
[" "]=Thoughts  
" " =Speaking  
{" "}=Telepathy  
(" ")=Panda Signs  
\" "/=Other Languages (Usually Chinese, but will be stated)  
  
Prolog  
Memories  
  
+----------------------------------------------------------+  
  
A female figure sits on top of an unconscious panda, watching the sun go down from her perch.  
  
With a sigh she thought ["Its kinda hard to believe all of this... I can't believe I got cursed."] She then sank into memories of the past.  
  
- 10 years ago -  
  
"Bye Mom!", a young boy shouted as he ran to catch up with his father. ["I'll be the best martial artist ever!"] he thought as he tried to match his father's stride.  
  
- 9 years ago -  
  
"Please Pop, don't put me back in there with those kitties!" a cut and bloody boy cried as his father prepared to toss him, covered in fish products, back into a pit of starved cats.  
  
"Quit whining Ranma, a true martial artist should not fear little cats. You WILL go back in until you learn the Neko-Ken and get over your fear of cats." the father yelled as he tossed his son and covered the pit with a lid.  
  
- 7 years ago -  
  
"C-c-c-cat!!!" Screamed a 9-year-old boy as he ran in fear from the small white kitten.  
  
"Ranma, How many times have I told you...", The fat old man started before a sudden strike from behind knocked him out.  
  
Ranma was cowering by a tree with his hands covering his face and his head between his knees as he tried to shake off his fear of felines. Looking up he noticed the cat was gone, and in its place an older man stood. He noticed his father slumped over a rock, out like a light. "What do you want?" Ranma asked nervously.  
  
"I would like to know why you have such a fear of cats," the old man said, "Maybe I can help you."  
  
Ranma found himself in no place to argue as he somehow he knew he could trust this man.  
  
"Well Mister, it's a long story, but here it goes..."  
  
- 2 years ago -  
  
"Well, you have learned everything I can teach you Ranma." the elderly man said. "It is time that you begin to train yourself. And remember not to let your father learn of your training with me for as long as possible. You may not be a strong psychic now, but given a few years your powers should increase with practice. Also I was able to remove your fear of cats for the most part so you shouldn't have to fear cats anymore, I still can't believe it took 5 years to purge that fear."  
  
"Yes Master Kia. And thank you."  
  
- Present Time -  
  
["Well so much for Pops not knowing about my secret training with Master Kia. I had hoped to get back to Japan before he found out I had psychic powers. I really went too far after he knocked me into that cursed spring."] Ranma-chan thought as the panda under her started to stir. ["That was really stupid, even for Pops, to go to that cursed training ground, although I really shouldn't have screamed at him telepathically. At least I'm not powerful enough to hurt him too bad yet."]  
  
- 10 Minutes ago -  
  
"Oh sirs, is very bad if you fall in spring!" Shouted a large round Chinese man as he ran towards his clients, who had just leaped 10 feet into the air to land on top of bamboo sticks poking out of the springs.  
  
"Come on Ranma, it's time to start training. I won't go easy on you!" shouted Genma.  
  
"Good, that's just how I like it!" replied Ranma.  
  
After a few leaps from pole to pole, the two engaged in mid-air combat. Splitting apart, and back to their separate poles, the two got ready for another leap. They both leaped towards each other at the same time, moving at incredible speeds. A short brawl occurred in mid-air, resulting in Genma being kicked straight down into one of the many pools of water scattered below.  
  
"What's wrong Pops? Giving up already?" shouted Ranma as he returned to his pole. Getting no response he hopped to a close pole, slightly worried.  
  
Just then a large Panda jumped out of the spring and landed on top of one of the nearby poles. The panda went into a combat stance and prepared to strike.  
  
"WHAT IS THAT?!?" Ranma screamed as he pointed at the large black and white bear that had his Pop's glasses hanging off one ear.  
  
"Oh sir you fall in spring of drowned Panda, tragic story of Panda that drowned there 2000 years ago. Now whoever falls in spring takes body of Panda." the guide said holding out a sign.  
  
Just then the panda leaped at the young boy and with a quick attack, sent him flying towards a nearby pool of water.  
  
*SPLASH*  
  
A young, cute red-headed poked her head above the water.  
  
"Oh no, you just fell into Spring of drowned girl, very tragic story of girl that fall into spring 1500 years ago and drown. Now anybody that falls in spring takes body of young girl!" shouted the guide, as he made another sign appear in his hands.  
  
The young woman took a deep breath and looked down noticing her training gi now pointed out quite a bit, sure enough she was female.  
  
The following scream was heard echoing from the surrounding mountains for quite a distance.  
  
{"POPS!!! You better start running, NOW!!!"} Genma heard in his head. Seeing the look on Ranma's face he quickly decided to invoke his greatest attack, he turned around and made for the hills. A little to slow.  
  
- Present Time -  
  
The guide came up the hill with a teapot in his hands. Ranma-chan turned towards him thinking that this was not a good time for tea.  
  
"Oh, there you are sirs. I have been looking all over for you. I forgot to tell you that hot water will change you back..." the guide started.  
  
At that time Ranma started to cheer up... but was cut short as the guide finished explaining the curse.  
  
"... but cold water will make you girl and panda again." the guide finished as he poured the contents of the kettle over the heads of the girl and the now awake panda.  
  
"Oh the shame, My son is a little girl now!" wailed Genma right before Ranma punched him in the face.  
  
"Its your fault Pops." Ranma said as he removed his fist from Genma's face. Turning to the guide he asked, "Is there any permanent cure?".  
  
"Oh sir, I do not know of any cure."  
  
"We in that case we shall set off to finish your training Ranma." Genma said as he recovered. "We have an appointment back in Japan we must be at in a few weeks, so we had better get started." ["Maybe Soun will understand and feed us until Ranma can find a cure for me."]  
  
+----------------------------------------------------------+  
  
All the changes I made are pretty much cosmetic. Alot of typos fixed, and grammar redone. I'll probably add more about Ranma's training under Mater Kia in a side story, so stop bugging me about it!  
  
Noaki - Noaki@juno.com 


	2. Engage ment REWRITTEN

A Mind among Men ORIGINAL  
A Ranma Fanfic  
Written By : Noaki (Noaki@juno.com)  
  
Disclaimer : I do not own in any way shape or form any  
part of Ranma. I only use it's characters and some of its  
storyline. Haven't I said this already?  
  
Conversation Key :  
[" "]=Thoughts  
" " =Speaking  
{" "}=Telepathy  
(" ")=Panda Signs  
\" "/=Other Languages (Usually Chinese, but will be stated)  
  
Chapter One  
Engage!(ment)  
  
+----------------------------------------------------------+  
  
After falling in the cursed springs at Jusenkyo Ranma and Genma set out on the long trek back to Japan. Of course the random rainstorms keeps them in their cursed forms. As they came upon a small village, they heard the sounds of weapons clashing. Of course Genma's sense of hearing did not compare to this sixth sense of nearby food...  
  
+----------------------------------------------------------+  
  
Ranma-chan stood by in awe at the two women locked in combat atop of the log. The guide was saying something about Amazon combat, but Ranma was too busy watching the small purple haired girl wielding two heavy steel maces weave inside of the larger woman's attacks. Just then he noticed his father running straight for the food. ["Figures that dumb bear can't wait to eat... He really should wait until some is offered at least."]  
  
Just then the purple haired girl knocked her opponent off the log. She turned towards the crowd in a victory pose. She turned to look towards her prize, only to find a panda wolfing it down. Images of various uses of panda skin immediately came to mind.  
  
Genma looked up and wondered why everyone was staring at him. ["Well the way I eat is kinda of impressive.]" He motioned for Ranma-chan to come join him. ("This is good!") said the sign he held up. He quickly flipped it over. ("Ranma, Come eat!").  
  
Ranma-chan immediately sweatdropped at the stupidity of her father, when she noticed a sign in front of the table her father was at. Running over she picked it up, and looked at it closely. She then knocked the panda over the head with the sign repetitively screaming "Pops you idiot, this is the first prize for the fight we just saw! Are you trying to get us in trouble?".  
  
The panda immediately held up a sign ("If you win, then everything is OK!").  
  
Everyone that could read Japanese face-faulted.  
  
A shriveled old woman stepped forward looking at the two strange people standing next to her great granddaughter's prize. \"Who are you and what do you think you are doing?"/ she asked in Chinese even though she knew they spoke Japanese.  
  
To everyone's surprise (especially Genma's) Ranma-chan turned to face her and started to speak in near perfect Chinese. \"I am sorry if we have caused any trouble. Since this is the first prize for the tournament, if I can win there should be no problem, right?"/  
  
The old woman was in slight shock at the perfect Chinese of the obviously Japanese individual, but replied \"IF you can win, I see no problem. But my great granddaughter is no push-over."/ Turning to the crowd she exclaimed \"This young girl had challenged Xain Pu to combat for the prize. Prepare the battle log!"/  
  
"I'm not a girl..." Ranma-chan muttered as she walked over towards the log.  
  
["What was that about?"] Cologne wondered after overhearing Ranma-chan's words. She watched the two walk through the parting crowds to the battle log.  
  
Ranma-chan and Shampoo both jumped up onto the log, an impressive feat in and of itself considering how high up the log was.  
  
Shampoo pulled two more mace out of nowhere and took up a strong offensive stance. ["I will take this outsider out quickly,"] she thought as she waited for Ranma-chan to get into a stance too.  
  
Ranma-chan took up a stance that, to the untrained eye, was nothing more than just standing there.  
  
A referee jumped up to the middle of the log. \"Participants ready?"/ she asked. When both fighters gave a short nod she did a back flip off the log while yelling \"FIGHT!"/  
  
Immediately Shampoo jumped into action with a fast charge forward followed by a high swing of her maces.  
  
Ranma-chan rolled onto her back and quickly tuned the doge into an attack by stabbing out with her foot at Shampoo's midsection.  
  
Shampoo swung her other mace towards Ranma-chan's leg in defense, making the other girl halt the attack or receive a serious injury. She then thrust forward with her other mace down towards Ranma-chan.  
  
Ranma-chan quickly hopped to her feet then did a flip over Shampoo, rotating in mid air to stay facing her opponent. She landed then had to do another quick flip as Shampoo lashed out with a sweep kick.  
  
Shampoo laughed to herself. ["If I keep this up the outsider will have no chance!"]  
  
Ranma-chan stood there in a defensive stance, faking breathing hard. ["I don't really want to hurt her, but I can tell how upset she is getting with me for not launching any serious attacks..."]  
  
Shampoo leapt forward again, thinking her opponent was exhausted, only to have Ranma-chan duck and roll under her attack and clip her shoulder with a sharp kick. She stifled her cry of pain, but was unable to hold onto her mace.  
  
Suddenly Genma leapt high about the crowds, a bucket of steaming water in hand.  
  
"Ranma since you are obviously a weak little girl, I shall help you!" he cried as he threw the remainder of the hot water he used to change back at the red head standing on the log.  
  
To everyone's surprise the young woman on the log changed into a young man with black hair. Anyone that knew about the cursed training grounds pretty much knew what happened.  
  
Ranma's opponent, Shampoo, was wondering what was happening when her great grandmother, Cologne, yelled up at her. \"That boy has obviously fallen into the spring of the drown girl! You know what will happen if you lose now!"/  
  
Ranma was curious to what that meant when Shampoo attacked with new fury. Pushing his speed to the limits he dodged every attack and did a back flip to the end of the log. ["I have to beat her, but I really don't want to hurt her. How can I do tha... I know!"] he thought.  
  
Shampoo was making a charge at the boy that made Cologne proud when all of a sudden a deep cyan light surrounded both fighters.  
  
Cologne was stunned at the fact they were both emitting a battle aura, so she began to probe them to see how. ["That's not a battle aura!"] she thought, ["That's psychic energy. That boy obviously has a few tricks!"]  
  
Ranma grinned as he struggled to keep the young Amazon from breaking free of his mental grasp on her. ["Damn this is hard! I really need to work on doing more than telepathy!"] he thought. Using as much willpower as he could muster, he lifted her off the log, moved her five feet over, and dropped her down gently, before he collapsed from the strain.  
  
Everyone was surprised to see the Amazon warrior all of a sudden just float up and off the log. They wondered why the challenger collapsed after he won. They weren't very surprised when Cologne nodded towards Shampoo. Shampoo walked over to the collapsed boy, bent down, and gave him a kiss.  
  
Ranma was just stirring, when above him he saw his opponent. ["I hope they don't take losing too bad here."] was his first thought. His second thought came when he sensed the emotions being put out by the young woman, ["What the..."]  
  
Genma snapped back from wherever he takes a trip to in that head of his. Where had his son learned THAT? And why was the Amazon he beat now hugging him with a grip that would make a vice seem weak.  
  
"Wo ai ni Airen!" Shampoo exclaimed, as she hugger her 'husband'. This boy was a much better catch that boy Mousse that had been hounding her. She didn't mind losing after Cologne gave her the short explanation of what he just did. That and the boy was cute!  
  
Said boy heard the phrase and translated it to himself. "It's you I love Husband!" Ranma passed out.  
  
Cologne and Genma pried Shampoo off of Ranma and carted him off to a tent.  
  
- Two Hours Later -  
  
Ranma woke up to find Shampoo dozing next to him with her arm over his chest, hugging him lightly. Some of the dreams he had felt coming from her were VERY disturbing. For instance he now knew her shoe size, she had dreamed of shoe shopping while dangling off her Airen's arm. That was one of the more decent dreams she was having. The the realization of what happened hit him.  
  
"Oh, so your awake now Ranma," Cologne said. "Allow me to catch you up to some events that happened while you slept."  
  
"I think I understand already," Ranma started. "If I had beat Shampoo while female, she would given me the Kiss-of-Death and hunted me to my death. But since I really am male, and we are already on Amazon land, she had to take me as her husband. I also know that by your laws we are married. You really should have waited until I was awake before you preformed a ceremony," he finished. Turning to Genma, who was hiding in panda form in the corner, he said, "I can't believe you gave your consent to this. You always said that a martial artist should never give into threats of pain. But you get one threat from someone with a spear and you marry me to keep from being poked."  
  
By this point both Cologne and Genma's mouths were hanging open. "H.h.h.how did you know all that?" they both stuttered at the same time.  
  
"Shampoo has had dreams about what has happened. Those are some of the more decent ones she has had over the past few hours..." Ranma answered. Getting blank looks from both of them he finished in a way that surprised the big time.  
  
["I can see Shampoo's dreams,"] Ranma said telepathically to them.  
  
Genma passed out, knocking over a glass of water onto Ranma. Cologne scrambled out of the way of the falling panda.  
  
Shampoo woke up as she felt Ranma change to a female. "Nihon Airen!" she stated as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.  
  
Cologne came out of her stat of shock and said, "Do you know what I am thinking right now Ranma?"  
  
Shampoo looked slightly confused. "Why would honored elder ask Airen question like that?"  
  
Ranma-chan replied, "She asked because I was able to tell her about most of what has happened while I was asleep". Turning to Cologne she said, "And to answer your question, no. I can't read minds yet. I can fell strong emotions and can see the dreams of people sleeping near me. I can barely life objects and can only use slight telepathy."  
  
Shampoo asked, "What you talking about?"  
  
Cologne replied, "It seems your husband is a psychic. He knows all about the things that have happened over the last few hours he has been asleep. He was able to see the dreams you were having and learned all about the marriage."  
  
Shampoo nervously turned to Ranma-chan and asked, "Airen saw ALL of Shampoo's dreams?"  
  
Ranma-chan slowly nodded. "Yup, I saw ALL of them..."  
  
"Sorry," Shampoo said as she blushed a deep red.  
  
"That's OK. I like you too, just not THAT much yet," Ranma-chan said.  
  
Cologne broke the not-quite-tender moment, "Well, ummm, your father has insisted that you continue your training. We will all be leaving tomorrow morning for Japan. You should probably get some more rest."  
  
Ranma-chan nodded in agreement and turned over to sleep some more as Cologne left to take her own advice. Ranma-chan was slightly surprised when Shampoo put her arm over her and pulled closer. ["I guess it's OK since we are married. I don't like the idea of being forced into marriage, but I know she really loves me, and I do like her alot. Maybe after I get to know her some..."] she thought as she looked at the sleeping Shampoo's face. ["Well at least she accepts my cursed form, better than I do even"]. Ranma had started to come to terms with his curse. ["I still hate changing to a female, but Shampoo doesn't see it as me losing my manhood. I could be worse, at least I'm still human. I could turn into a pig or duck..."] With those thoughts she fell asleep.  
  
- Middle of that night -  
  
Ranma-chan woke up to find herself bound and gagged. Looking up she saw her father, in panda form, looking around to make sure no-one was watching.  
  
("We are leaving,") the sign Genma held up said.  
  
Ranma-chan tried to protest, but since she couldn't talk with the rag in her mouth, she had to give in as the panda picked her up and slung her over one of his shoulders.  
  
Suddenly Ranma-chan got an idea.  
  
{"Cologne, my father has me bound and gagged. He says we are leaving. He has been having dreams of a place called Nermia recently. Maybe that is where he is taking me."}  
  
Cologne woke up after hearing Ranma's words in her head. Looking out a window she could see a panda with a girl over it's shoulder on a distant hilltop, heading east. She rolled back over in bed to fall back asleep. ["So Genma thinks he can just leave us like that? We will head after them soon. This will be a good chance to improve Shampoo's tracking skills."]  
  
+----------------------------------------------------------+  
  
Notes:  
  
Freezing then lifting Shampoo pushed Ranma's mental powers. He really sucks at stuff like that right now.  
Ranma can't ream minds yet, but he can read strong emotions (Love, hate, and nervousness mostly) and can see other people's dreams.  
Ranma can project words, ideas, and simple images to other people's minds. That's as far as his telepathy goes right now.  
  
Many people have said that Ranma is OOC because he accepts the engagement to Shampoo. Remember though that Ranma can't stand to hurt people's feelings, and now that he can tell exactly how strong those feelings are, he can't just tell Shampoo off. Also Shampoo accepts him and his curse... he sees how hard that would be to anyone else, and respects her alot for it. He doesn't like the idea of being married but he accepts it. He also knows how futile it would be to try and change things, because everything happened on Amazon land. He is more thoughtful than the Ranma in the manga, and thinks things through a bit more. He will still have a problem with foot in mouth tho. As for his fighting, he is psychic and still getting used to it. All the emotions he was feeling during the battle were very distracting (Try doing something like boxing while listening to 7 or 8 different songs at once).  
  
The changes to this chapter are mostly spelling and grammar. I did write out the entire fight scene on the battle log. I might be making some more changes soon.  
  
Noaki - Noaki@juno.com 


	3. Fiancee? REWRITTEN

A Mind among Men ORIGINAL  
A Ranma Fanfic  
Written By : Noaki (Noaki@juno.com)  
  
Disclaimer : This while disclaimer thing is kinda cliche isn't it? Oh well, here goes. The characters ain't mine. The original story ain't mine. This story is mine. And I like it that way.  
  
Conversation Key :  
[" "]=Thoughts  
" " =Speaking  
{" "}=Telepathy  
(" ")=Panda Signs  
\" "/=Other Languages (Usually Chinese, but will be stated)  
  
Chapter Two  
Fiancee?!?  
  
+----------------------------------------------------------+  
  
Ranma was rescued from the cat fist by a kind old monk. The monk taught Ranma about the psychic gifts the young boy had. The monk also removed a large part of the fear that resulted from training in the Neko-Ken. Ranma and Genma went to Jusenkyo to train. Genma was cursed with a panda form and Ranma with a red-haired girl. Soon after, due to some complex Amazon laws, Ranma was married to Shampoo because he defeated her in combat. Genma drug Ranma back to Japan to visit the Tendos.  
  
+----------------------------------------------------------+  
  
- Tendo Dojo -  
  
Soun cried as he read the postcard he received from Genma. It claimed that Genma and his son would arrive today. Soun decided to let his daughters know.  
  
- 10 Minutes Later -  
  
Soun and his three daughters were gathered around the table. The three girls were still in shock over what their father had just said. Who would have thought that one of them would be engaged to a complete stranger by the end of the day. Then the doorbell rang.  
  
-10 More Minutes Later -  
  
As Soun came to he heard the voices of his family around him.  
  
"Oh look, Father is waking up!" Kasumi exclaimed.  
  
"What kind of joke is this?" Nabiki yelled. "Does this look like a boy to you?" she continued while physically pointing out that Ranma-chan was female.  
  
"Stop that please," Ranma-chan muttered softly. She was feeling very uncomfortable here. The emotions floating around was enough to give him a migraine. Soun was a waterfall of confusion, sadness, and a little anger directed towards Genma. He couldn't tell anything about Kasumi's emotions. When he tried to sense what Nabiki was feeling it was like she was a solid block of ice, completely devoid of emotion. He could tell she was upset (Anyone could tell that at this point). But the most confusing was Akane. She had been putting out enough anger to power Tokyo when the first meet. Now she seemed to have calmed down quite a bit.  
  
"Nabiki! He... She is out guest!" Akane yelled. Turning to Ranma-chan she said, "Hi, I'm Akane. You want to be friends?"  
  
Ranma-chan was stunned, ["First she seems to be angry enough at me that she could blow up, now she is so nice she is like a flower? Well I haven't had a real friend in a while... unless you count Shampoo. She was really nice to me and seemed to be a nice enough person if you don't try to push her around"]. "Sure," Ranma-chan managed to squeak out to Akane.  
  
- 5 Minutes Later -  
  
"I won't hurt you," Akane said as she and Ranma-chan went into the dojo for a little match. They proceeded to walk to the center of the room and faced off to each other. Akane took up her favorite battle stance. Ranma-chan just stood there.  
  
["Well lets just see how good training in China really is,"] Akane thought. She launched her first attack.  
  
Ranma-chan dodged.  
  
Akane re-chambered her fist then launched into a blurred furry of punches and kicks.  
  
Ranma-chan barely gave any ground as she dodged everything Akane could throw. She could feel Akane's temper rising. ["Maybe I should do more than dodge."]  
  
Akane confirmed this thought when she yelled, "Come on, Attack me!"  
  
The next attack Akane threw was meant to really hit. Ranma-chan dropped to her back and lashed out with her right leg. Akane tripped over Ranma-chan's leg sweep and started to fall. Ranma-chan rolled up and jumped over, catching Akane before she hit the floor. After helping Akane stand up they both started laughing.  
  
"I'm glad you a girl," Akane said. "I'd really hate to lose to a boy."  
  
Ranma-chan stopped laughing happily and started laughing nervously. ["Well this will make my life more chaotic I'm sure."]  
  
- A Few Minutes Later -  
  
"Ranma, would you like to take a bath? You must be sweaty after your workout," Kasumi asked.  
  
"Sure, but can you get a kettle of hot water ready first. I have to show everyone some things that need explaining," Ranma-chan replied. ["I better explain my curse before I take a bath. The worse possible way they could find out about my curse would be if one of them walked in expecting a female Ranma and found a male Ranma instead."]  
  
- Tendo Dining Room 5 Minutes Later -  
  
"Here is the hot water you wanted Ranma," Kasumi said as she handed the kettle to Ranma-chan.  
  
Genma-panda started to back away from the table slowly.  
  
"Thank you Kasumi," Ranma-chan said with a small, polite bow. Taking notice of the panda sneaking out she drug him back in the room. "Where do you think you were going Pops?"  
  
("Umm... Bathroom?") the sign Genma-panda held up read.  
  
"Wrong, now hold still," Ranma-chan said as she poured some hot water from the kettle on Genma-panda.  
  
The Tendos stared in amazement as the panda quickly became human. Where the panda had been sitting there was now an overweight, bald, and very embarrassed man.  
  
"This is my father, Genma Saotome," Ranma started, but had to stop when Soun went into shock.  
  
Soun woke up muttering something about magical pandas a few minutes later. Seeing his old friend Genma standing there he said, "Hello Genma! When did you get in?" thinking that maybe everything was just a dream.  
  
"Me and my father have been here for a few hours now. I'll try and explain everything," Ranma-chan said patiently. "While on our training trip Pops decided to travel to some training grounds he saw in some pamphlet, even though he couldn't read all of it. At Jusenkyo there are a large number of natural springs, each with it's own curse. When you fall into the water, you receive the curse. When splashed with cold water the curse activates and you become whatever last drown in the spring. When splashed with hot water the transformation is reversed, and you get your old body back until you come into contact with cold water again," Ranma-chan demonstrated by pouring the rest of the kettle on her head, changing back to male before four set of very wide eyes.  
  
After gaping wide eyed and slack jawed for a second Soun recovered. "Well, your problem isn't so bad after all. Meet my daughters, Kasumi age 19, Nabiki age 17, and Akane age 16. Choose one to be your fiancee!"  
  
"Oh, he wants Akane. They will be perfect for each other, after all they are both martial artist!" Kasumi and Nabiki said in unison.  
  
Ranma could feel Akane's emotions switch from confusion to anger.  
  
"What makes you think I want to marry this pervert?" Akane screamed.  
  
"Why am I a pervert?" Ranma shouted back, slightly annoyed.  
  
"You are really a boy and you can become a girl whenever you want! Of course your a pervert! ALL boys are anyway!" Akane deduced.  
  
"Don't be such a moron! You don't even kn..." Ranma started before Akane hit him in the head with the table.  
  
- Later That Day -  
  
Ranma-chan woke up with a headache. To add on top of that, she had somehow gotten wet. As the world around her started to come into focus, she noticed she was in one of the guest rooms with two figures sitting nearby. As the double (and triple) images began to fade and merge he recognized Nabiki and Kasumi.  
  
"Are you OK? Don't think too badly of Akane. She's really a sweet girl, just a violent maniac," Kasumi stated.  
  
"Oh way to go Kasumi, don't confuse her... er him like that," Nabiki said.  
  
"That's alright. I actually understood what she means. Akane is a really nice person, she just jumps to conclusions or judges people a little to fast, then reacts violently. I guess that moron comment I made pushed it a little to far," Ranma-chan said as she shook some cobwebs loose.  
  
Nabiki was startled to hear such insight coming from a martial artist. ["Hmm, I thought that most martial artist were just brainless oafs. But Ranma seems to be able to read people almost as well as I can. Maybe s\he isn't just a blockhead after all."]  
  
Ranma-chan sat there hoping tomorrow would be a better day.  
  
- The Next Morning -  
  
Ranma was heading down the hall after changing back to male. ["First this curse, then the Amazons, and now Pops is trying to get me engaged to one of these Tendo girls. Akane has some rather violent dreams where she would beat me into a bloody pulp when I was male then act friendly when I was female. Nabiki was hard to see, but she was mostly dreaming of yen I'm sure. Kasumi mostly had dreams of someone called Dr. Tofu, maybe I'll meet him later, but had a few rather interesting dreams that included myself. Both Soun and Genma dreamed of retirement and playing Shogi all day."] Ranma had a hard time dealing with all of the dreams and emotions floating around, so he had a fairly restless night. This morning it had shown during practice when his father easily knocked him into the koi pond.  
  
"Ranma hurry up or you'll be late for school!" Nabiki shouted as she hurried by. "Akane will show you the way."  
  
Ranma turned to Genma to protest by saying he didn't have school supplies, when the panda handed him a backpack.  
  
"Why do I have to walk with him?" Akane could be heard shouting.  
  
"Because he is YOUR fiancee!" Nabiki replied as she walked out the door.  
  
Akane stepped out of a door, nearly bumping into Ranma. "Well hurry up, I don't want to be late" she grumbled at him.  
  
Feeling how angry Akane was, Ranma decided it would be a good idea to listen, so he followed her out the door and down the street.  
  
- 20 Minutes Later -  
  
Ranma had noticed Akane's anger levels rising as they approached the school. After everything that had happened this morning he thought she was already on edge. How was he supposed to know that old woman used a bucket of cold water to clean the sidewalk every morning anyway? After a brief stop at Dr. Tofu's the pair continued on their was to school. Ranma had noticed Akane's emotions change while she was around Dr. Tofu. ["She really seems to like him a lot. More than she cares about me."] His thought process was interpreted when he heard Akane's battle cry.  
  
"I HATE BOYS!!!" Akane yelled as she launched herself into a battle with a large number of boys they were wearing athletic equipment.  
  
Ranma sat on top of the school yard's fence as he watch the horde of boys attempt to Akane with cries of "Date me Akane!" to "You will be mine after this battle!" When the last boy had fallen Akane stood in the middle of a large circle of unconscious youth, looking slightly winded. Ranma hopped down from his perch on the fence to stand next to her. "What was that abou..." he started before a man in a blue gi and wielding a bokken stepped out from behind a tree.  
  
"Ah Akane, your fiery spirit could never be kindled by one of those mere peasants. Allow I, Kuno, to date you after I have been victorious in our duel." Kuno said as he threw a rose to Akane.  
  
Akane caught the rose and started to get mad again.  
  
Ranma could tell right away that this guy was a real idiot. He was so mentally weak that Ranma was able to read his mind fairly well. ["Hmm... I got to work on this mind reading stuff. It could come in useful. And this guy has no mental barriers, so it should be good practice."]  
  
"So Akane, what is going on here?" Ranma asked.  
  
"Who are you to be addressing the lovely Akane so freely?" Kuno immediately asked Ranma.  
  
Ranma started to answer when Kuno interrupted.  
  
"Wait! Isn't it custom to give one's own name first? Very well, I am..." Kuno started before Ranma cut him off.  
  
"You are upperclassman Kuno. Junior. Group E. Captain of the Kendo club. Undefeated new star of the High school fencing world. Oh and you now go by 'The Blue Thunder of Furinkan High'." Ranma said. ["Jeez reading his mind was too easy. Maybe I should have held back a bit though. Don't want anyone to know I'm psychic yet."]  
  
Kuno stood there with his mouth still hanging open, so Ranma decided to continue. "I am Ranma Saotome, of the Saotome school of Anything Goes Martial Arts. My father and I are currently residing at the Tendo dojo of Anything Goes."  
  
Kuno quickly found his voice after hearing this. "How dare you stay under the same roof as the tigress Akane? And how did you know what I was about to say? Ah, I know! You are a vile black sorcerer! I shall vanquish thee and free the lovely goddess Akane from your evil clutches." Kuno yelled as he leapt toward Ranma, bokken at ready.  
  
Ranma ducked under the blow and said, "You really are insane aren't you? Well if I play for too long I'll be late for class." After saying this Ranma leapt up to the trunk of a nearby tree to dodge a swing from Kuno that smashed through the concrete wall.  
  
Kuno turned and made another wild slash. Ranma pushed off the tree just as it was sliced in two by Kuno's bokken. Doing a quick flip he planted his foot into Kuno's face, did a back flip, stuck his hands into his pockets, then calmly walked towards the school.  
  
Kuno stood absolutely still for a second before falling, stiff as a board, backward.  
  
Ranma looked up and saw some of Akane's friends hanging out of a window. "Is that our class?" he asked Akane.  
  
"Yes" she said, still surprised at how Ranma casually defeated Kuno, "We better hurry or we'll be late now."  
  
Ranma nodded then started walking towards the wall. "I'll take the shortcut then" he said as he leapt up to the third story window of his class.  
  
Akane's friends scrambled out of the way as the young man came through the window.  
  
"Hi, I'm Ranma Saotome, Sorry about that..." he said to them.  
  
- Five Minutes Later -  
  
"Well class this is our new student. His name is Ranma Saotome. I expect you all to warmly welcome him to the school." the teacher said as Ranma stood in front of the class. "But being new does not exempt you and Akane from punishment. Ranma, I don't know what they do in China, but we don't enter class through windows here. Akane, you were late for class. Both of you grab a pail and stand in the hall now."  
  
Outside the classroom Ranma could feel Akane's anger towards him. He decided to be blunt. "Why are you so mad at me?" he asked.  
  
"It's your fault I was late! If you hadn't gotten wet on the way here, or fought Kuno I'd have been on time. Now we are going to miss taking notes!" Akane shouted back at him.  
  
"Sorry my curse causes YOU problems, and Kuno challenged me. I never back out of a challenge. And don't worry, class is only about the Quadratic formula. I can show you that later." Noticing the strange look he was getting from Akane he quickly added "Some of my training with Pops has increased my senses, I can hear the teacher still." ["Can't let her know about me yet. I'm not going to be able to keep this a secret for too long at this rate..."]  
  
That made plenty of sense to Akane. "But how did you know what Kuno was going to spout? Have you meet before?"  
  
"Umm... That's a... secret. I'll just say Pops wasn't my only sensei. Just don't tell him that."  
  
"You vile sorcerer! What spell have you cast on the Tendo family to make them go along in your evil schemes? How dare you force them to engage the lovely Akane to you?" Came a yell from down the hall. Kuno came running into view, bokken at the ready yet again.  
  
Ranma dodged a slash that cut his water buckets in half, and barley dodged the water that sloshed out. ["Cutting metal with a wooden sword. Not bad."] Ranma thought while trying his best to stay dry.  
  
"You won our earlier battle with your black magic! I will defeat you now! I will not allow this engagement to the goddess Akane!" Kuno continued to scream.  
  
Every kid within hearing range popped their heads out a window into the hall and started to bombard Ranma and Akane with questions about the engagement.  
  
All of the excitement Ranma could feel pouring from everyone piled up quickly.  
  
Everyone stopped talking after they heard Ranma wail in agony, his eyes glazing and rolling back, as he grabbed his head then went completely limp. Akane and Kuno gave each other blank looks then picked Ranma up and rushed him to the nurse's office.  
  
Akane was pacing nervously after lying Ranma down on a small stretcher along one of the walls. "Kuno what the hell did you do to him?"  
  
"The coward mush have feared my prowess in battle and fainted in fear." Kuno said, while smiling. "Now that I have freed you from his grasp, I will allow you to date me!"  
  
"I don't want to date you! And that cry Ranma gave off wasn't fearful, it was a cry of pain. Every time I hit a pervert they sound just like that." Akane replied after removing the chair she smacked Kuno with from his face.  
  
"You just hit me and I did not wail!" Kuno stated. "He obviously feared me!"  
  
"No, your just to stubborn to scream." Akane said. ["That or too stupid to feel pain."]  
  
"Ohh... will you two calm down please?" Ranma groaned.  
  
Akane and Kuno turned away from each other to see Ranma start to stir.  
  
"This is the WORST headache I've ever had." Ranma moaned as he sat up. "It hurts more than that time you smacked me with the table." he said with a forced grin towards Akane.  
  
"So the foul black sorcerer awakens! You shall soon feel my wraith! Then I shall honor Akane with a date! Prepare to be conquered you demon from the pits of hel..." Kuno started before he violently flew backwards across the room into a wall. "I fight on..." he muttered weakly before collapsing.  
  
"What was that?" Akane shouted as she got into a fighting stance. ["No one was near Kuno and Ranma didn't move. Is there someone that is somehow invisible in here?"]  
  
["Crud, I forgot that I couldn't use my psychic abilities. Although I didn't know I could throw things like that... that's something else I'll have to work on."] Ranma thought. "Hey Akane, do you think we can go home? I really don't feel that good."  
  
"Sure I guess."  
  
["Well that was interesting, I think I shall follow them."] Nabiki thought as she watched the happenings through a hidden camera.  
  
- Some Village in the Middle of Japan -  
  
A lone boy with a large backpack and a bamboo umbrella was walking down a dusty street. Everyone of the villagers was out of sight. The reason why, a giant boar, was now barreling down the street, intent on ramming the young man.  
  
"WHERE AM I NOW?!?" the boy screamed right before he was sent flying via GBTATO (Giant Boar Tusk-Assisted Take-Offs). ["Hmm... If I'm lucky I'll land nearer Tokyo and away from water."] the boy thought as he cruised along in the air.  
  
- Outside Furinkan High -  
  
As Ranma and Akane were heading out the building kids could be seen in the school yard eating their lunches. Most of the kids looked up as they saw Ranma. They were still wondering how he would fare against Kuno in battle. They were also curious as to the engagement with Akane and what happened in the halls.  
  
["Hmm... Everyone here seems really curious, but it seems that someone very depressed and angry is heading this way. Or I'm just hungry and imagining things."] Ranma thought while walking with his head down to avoid the stares he was getting from the student body of Furinkan High. That's when he noticed a small shadow on the ground that started to grow larger. He quickly reached over and roughly shoved Akane into the grass a few feet away when his sixth sense kicked in strong.  
  
"What was that for you bak..." Akane started before a cry from above drown her out.  
  
"RANMA, PREPARE TO DIE!!!" the boy shouted as he was finishing his decent from GBTATO airways. Leading the landing was his bamboo umbrella, which he planned on using to drive Ranma into the ground.  
  
Ranma did a quick hop backwards to avoid the rather blunt attack.  
  
The umbrella hit the ground Ranma had been occupying a second earlier. A large crater formed a split-second later with the black-haired wanderer squatting in the middle. "Still good at running away I see." the boy replied as he stood up.  
  
["This guy is the source of all that anger and depression. I'm surprised he isn't glowing! There is only one guy I know that gets worked up like this."] Ranma thought before speaking. "Long time no see, Ryoga Hibiki! I didn't know you were coming to school here! Let me buy you some bread for lunch!"  
  
"I don't want bread! I want to kill you for what you have done to me!" Ryoga yelled back as he stood up from the face-fault he preformed at Ranma's bread comment.  
  
"What did I do?" Ranma muttered as he dodged an umbrella strike.  
  
"You ran out on our duel!!" Ryoga shouted as he pulled back for another attack.  
  
"What are you talking about? I waited three days in the vacant lot BEHIND your HOUSE!" Ranma said as he flipped to the side to avoid the umbrella.  
  
"And when I arrived on the fourth day you were gone!" Ryoga said as he started to feel his anger rising even more.  
  
"Four days? Behind his house?"  
"I'd have left after a few hours!"  
"What kind of idiot gets lost walking out the back door?"  
"He must have the worst sense of direction a human could be born with."  
The gathered students began to talk back and forth about the newcomer and his ability to get lost.  
  
"My Pops knocked me out and drug me to China!" Ranma said trying to cool Ryoga down. ["He is gonna explode with anger if this keeps up for long."]  
  
"I've been through HELL because of you Ranma!"  
  
"I had to travel with Pops... isn't that worst?"  
  
"Ranma has a point there." Akane piped up.  
  
"Ranma, I will get my revenge and make you pay!"  
  
"You aren't listening to me are you?"  
  
"Ranma, I will take away your happiness!"  
  
"Am I happy?" Ranma asked as he turned to face Akane.  
  
Akane just shrugged.  
  
"Prepare to DIE!!!" Ryoga shouted as he leaped into the air to attack from above.  
  
"I mean, I have to put up with Pops and now Kuno... Is that happiness?" Ranma wondered out loud as he ducked under the attack and punted Ryoga over a fence.  
  
"RANMA! How dare you run out on our battle again! I will find you sooner or later!" Ryoga shouted as he hopped up and ran in a random direction.  
  
The crowd did a collective face-fault as they watched him through the chain link fence Ranma had kicked him over.  
  
"Ranma will you just shut up and keep walking?" Akane said as she started back for the gate.  
  
- Tendo Dojo 10 Minutes Later -  
  
"Hello!" Akane shouted as she and Ranma-chan (Now female thanks to an automatic sprinkler system) walked in the front door.  
  
"Oh my, is everything OK? You two are home a little early from school today." Kasumi said from the kitchen.  
  
"Everything is fine, Ranma just collapsed as school, luckily he hit his head and it softened the fall." Akane said as she passed the entrance to the kitchen.  
  
["Just when I think she is gonna be nice, she makes a comment like that!"] Ranma-chan was thinking as Nabiki suddenly walked inside.  
  
"Are you worried about Ranma too Nabiki?" Kasumi calmly asked.  
  
"I'm not worried about him!" Akane huffed.  
  
"No, I was more worried about Akane. Kuno was spouting off about how he defeated Akane's tormenter and how he was going to find his Lovely Flower and challenger her to another match." Nabiki said. "I was just making sure Akane didn't get whacked with that tuna he was waving around like a bokken."  
  
["I must have left a little mental poison behind when I read his pea... I mean mind this morning. I need to learn more control."] Ranma thought as Akane started to huff about how Nabiki thought that she couldn't handle Kuno.  
  
"Oh, since you are back, you have two guest here to visit with you." Kasumi said to Ranma-chan.  
  
["Who do I know that would visit me, much less know where I am. Me and Pops have only been here a few days."] Ranma thought before she said, "Two guest? I wonder who they are..."  
  
"The older one was very interested in talking to Mr. Saotome, she even recognized him as a panda. The younger one ran around looking for you for a few minutes. Are they some old school friends? I think they are in the living room talking with father and Mr. Saotome right now though." Kasumi replied.  
  
["Who would know about our curses?"] Ranma-chan thought as she headed towards the living room that Genma and Soun played Shogi in all day. She was closely followed by Akane and Nabiki. Opening the door she saw an elderly woman perched on top of a cane staring down at Panda-Genma, who was shaking in fear against a wall. Without turning the old woman said, "Hello great-grandson. Or should I say great grand-daughter right now?"  
  
Simultaneously three things happened.  
1. Ranma-chan got very nervous and started to get ready to run. ["The Tendos will not like this. Neither will I for that matter."]  
2. ["SHE is Ranma's great-grandmother? They look nothing alike!"] Akane and Nabiki though at the same time.  
3. A purple haired bundle of very exited Amazon warrior propelled herself across the room with a cry of "Airen!" right before she glomped onto Ranma.  
  
A split second later Ranma-chan was knocked unconscious from Akane's hammer.  
  
The young Amazon pulled out a broadsword from one of her short sleeves (AN - Yes I am going to say that all Amazons have some hidden weapons training. Mousse is just a master of it, therefore better at it). "Why you hit Ranma? You looking to be hurt by Shampoo?"  
  
"I don't know who you are you purple haired bimbo, but Ranma is my fiancee. So stay away." Akane said before she turned back to Ranma-chan. "How dare you cheat on me behind my back!" she yelled as she proceeded to beat the daylights out of Ranma-chan's prone form.  
  
"Oh my! I better get Ranma a pillow." Kasumi said as she put down a tea tray she had just walked in with and went to find a pillow.  
  
Just then a pipe above Shampoo's head cracked and cold water dripped down onto her head. Everyone stared as the small white and pink kitten that replaced Shampoo.  
  
"Well, Genma that is one reason I am upset with you. In her haste to chase after you she got turned around in the dark and fell into the Spring of the Drown Cat. Oh, excuse me young lady, what is that about your and Ranma being engaged? He is married to Shampoo there. And where are my manners, I am Cologne one of the elders of the Chinese Amazons." the old lady said as Neko-Shampoo curled up in a ball against Ranma-chan's chest, unnoticed by everyone in the room.  
  
"It was our father's idea! I don't want to marry that jerk! He is a freak!" Akane said, very confused about what was going on, but very sure that Ranma was a boy and she hated boys. The fact that Ranma was a girl right now meant nothing.  
  
"Glad to know what you think of me Akane." Ranma-chan said as she slowly sat up.  
  
("Everyone act calm, when Ranma goes into the Neko-ken from his fear of cats don't make any sudden moves if you value your life!") Genma's sign read as he dropped down to play dead.  
  
["Where the heck did he hide a sign that big?"] everyone else thought at the same time.  
  
Everyone turned to look at Ranma-chan who was sitting at the table with Shampoo in his arms. She was holding Shampoo against her chest petting her softly, while wearing a smug grin on her face. ["I was wondering how long it would be before I had to show Pops I was over my fear of cats."] Ranma-chan though as Shampoo purred softly. "Pops you can get up now, Shampoo doesn't bother me."  
  
"Well your skills have improved if you could tell that was Shampoo without knowing about her curse. Now to settle this fiancee thing." Cologne said as she hopped over to the table on her staff.  
  
Kasumi walked into the room at that moment carrying a pillow and a blanket. "Oh my, your awake now Ranma. Are you sure your feeling alright. Akane said you collapsed at school today and with you fainting here too maybe you should see a doctor. Well I guess I can put the pillow back now that you don't need it."  
  
"I think Pops could use it. Seems the excitement was a little too much for him to bear." Ranma-chan said. Noticing the emotional reactions that surged up she quickly added, "No pun intended."  
  
+----------------------------------------------------------+  
  
Authors Notes :  
  
Well that is it for this chapter. I know it doesn't follow the manga or anime as much as it could, I felt that an accelerated time table would make things make sense a little bit better. And to those that feel that this strays too far from the series, I can only say your right. It is an alternate universe, or some other excuse for branching away from the real storyline. Things happen different. Ranma is a psychic and lots of things will be different. And no this hasn't turned into a Ranma-Shampoo fic, although that is how it seems (I still don't know who Ranma will be paired with). After I get the next chapter out it should clear up a bit. I also have skipped over some of the storyline of the original that everyone should know by now. I will be going back and adding it in when I rewrite, but I am more concerned about getting my part of the story down first.  
  
Sorry for all the delays getting this chapter out. It has been one thing after another and school isn't going as well as it should. I'll try to have another chapter out soon, and I am trying to make them longer. But I'm working on a web site to host all of these and am starting a few more fic ideas. Since I write as it comes to me, I write on whatever fic I am inspired to write in. And I try a different writing style for each, which only makes it harder. Enough babbling, I gotta get to bed :P  
  
AN Rewrite :  
  
Finally I have finished the rewrites on all of the chapters I had started. Sorry, but I decided not to add the basic Ranma plot in this time, maybe later. And this has turned into a Ranma-Shampoo fic... don't like it too bad. You can read one of my other fics that has Ranma with someone else if you so desire. I'll get to work on the new chapters soon now that I have fixed these up.  
  
Reviews and comments can be sent to Noaki@juno.com  
Flames will be misquoted then used against you. Or I'll just use 'em to heat up some warm water for Ranma. 


End file.
